Mashinter and Wingels up from Worcester, Niittymaki to start tonight, Matt Shaw has an outdoor game of his own — plus more

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Brandon Mashinter is here for his first NHL game tonight. Tommy Wingels is en route to play in his third.

And it will be Antero Niittymaki in goal against the Minnesota Wild.

That’s the basic update from this morning’s skate as the Sharks try to erase the memory of that 4-0 hosing by the Los Angeles Kings with a better effort in the State of Hockey.

The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Mashinter said getting out of the Boston airport in the wake of that East Coast blizzard wasn’t a big problem, though things were pretty busy there.

“They got me right in and the flight was delayed a little bit because of luggage, but other than that it was pretty easy,” Mashinter said.

“I’m excited. I got the call yesterday after practice and my heart got pumping a little bit,” said Mashinter, a power forward with 15 points and 64 penalty minutes in 31 games with Worcester this season.

Mashinter said he expects to be nervous at the start, then quickly get past that.

“The first few shifts,” he said, “I’ve got to get out there, make a presence, hit some bodies and get my legs underneath me.”

Mashinter skated this morning on a fourth line with Scott Nichol and Jamal Mayers.

That means you can expect to see Wingels on a third line with Patrick Marleau and Jamie McGinn. This morning, defenseman Derek Joslin skated in that spot, but it’s pretty clear that was a case of simply filling out a forward line for practice purposes.

Todd McLellan said he told Mashinter to “come in and play like Brandon plays. He’s a big, physical winger who goes to the net. He’s got a tremendous shot. I want him to work hard to stay in the play. And then I told him we believed in him and wanted him to enjoy the night. That’s how it should be for everybody’s first game.”

Then McLellan added:

“If we expect Brandon Mashinter or Tommy Wingels to come in and rally the troops, I think that’s a sorry thought. We have people in the locker room that are supposed to rally the troops.”

Wingels has 12 points and 22 penalty minutes in 27 games with Worcester. His first game with San Jose was the season-opener in Stockholm.

In a related move, John McCarthy was put on injured reserve.

****As expected, both Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell stayed home to nurse lower body injuries. McLellan said both will also miss tomorrow night’s game in Chicago, but the coach left open the possibility either could rejoin the team in Los Angeles for the New Year’s Day contest against the Kings.

Here are how the top two lines were set up this morning:

Heatley-Thornton-Ferriero

Clowe-Couture-Setoguchi

****Games here in Minnesota are a homecoming of sorts for assistant coach Matt Shaw, who was on the Wild’s staff for two seasons before coming to San Jose. And last night he headed to an outdoor community rink in the suburb of Woodbury for a family skate with his 17-year-old daughter Clare and 14-year-old son Haden.

Shaw’s family stayed behind in Woodbury when he got the job with the Sharks, though they had been out in San Jose for the Christmas holiday.

“Coming up here, when we lived up here, we really thought it was a neat deal to have all these community rinks. So when we got in, I went home and skated with my kids and a couple of their buddies. We had a pick-up game and it was awesome.”

The pond-hockey rink, by the way, is well-lit and open 24 hours.

****Rick Bronwell, who served as the Sharks assistant equipment manager for three seasons before taking the same job last summer with the Minnesota Wild, marks his 1,000th game in pro hockey tonight and the milestone was noted in both locker rooms.

The Wild, in fact, are having a guitar custom-made for Bronwell, who has been known to get up on stage at a Nashville honky-tonk every now and then when the NHL schedule puts him there.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.

GP, theOldeReprobate, Snow Shovel, Sharkalchemy – good points all of you. I tend to agree that sitting your star players isn’t necessarily the right thing to do in every situation. I think it depends on the player and what he will respond to. A star player is one that has been labeled as such because of previous performance and that in and of itself should be treated with some respect.

I think some would agree as I do that this probably wouldn’t work on Patty as his problems are the same it has always been. He doesn’t look like he tries on some shifts, doesn’t look like he is in good position on either side of the puck on others and for sometimes many games in a row can practically disappear. Maybe it’s effort, maybe it’s competitive fire but this isn’t a new problem for him. I don’t want him to be traded, just want him to start playing better. I’m sure he does as well. Maybe that’s just hockey. GO SHARKS!!

SanDiegoSharksFan

maybe it is just “coachspeak” but there is the idea that sitting a player is less a punishment for bad play and more a chance for him to see the game from a different perspective and maybe glean some nuggets for how to improve his own play upon return.

either way, i would suggest that marleau has shown (by virtue of his accepting of the stripped “C”) that he could probably handle being sat without taking it personal to the detriment of his own play. as for whether it would help him to play better in the future, i am skeptical, but i guess it probably couldn’t hurt too much to try sitting him, given who he is and his history.

GO SHARKS!

Snow Shovel

Alright, Thornton and Clowe! We’re not going to be shut out! 🙂

WI JP

Seems like NickG’s posted article about sums up MN being “The State of Hockey”.

Hockey is the biggest high school sport in the state.

One of my best hockey recollections is when Pavs and Team WI beat a MN powerhouse for a national title.

I think Kessel was the 1st non-MN kid to ever play for the Gophers.

JP

BASS

I never thought I would here these two words spoken in the same sentance, but it happened just now. Randy said “Murray scampers”

BASS

sorry for the typo

garlicbulb

Anyone find the video on line. Justin.tv doesn’t seem to have it.

Snow Shovel

The feed has been lost. It’s the same feed at these different sites MIPS.tv. We just have to be patient and wait for it to be restored. Not much fun, is it? 🙁

Dirty

Hey Dany, you know how much you hate it when someone lifts your stick right when you’re about to score? Flip the script baby!

The Sharks just can’t get the puck out of the d-zone cleanly. As long as they keep repeating this weakness they are doomed. Doomed, I say!!! Turnover after turnover—aggggggggh!

Minnesota scores 5 against the Sharks–how can “we” let this anemic offense ring “us’ up like this!!!!!

Pucky

Hey…how bout that power play!

Dirty

gruesome

g-man

Yeah, power play is ok, now can they please play some 5 on 5 hockey?

So far this season–we start slow, have a great second period, and either have a good 3rd, of fold completely. That means one consistently good period a night, and always the second.

Someone pass the crack pipe around the bench during warm-ups, please! Or crystal meth–whatever it takes! I’ll buy!!!!

Ty G.

They can’t even hold a lead in Minny, a weak team that just got a 3rd period comeback for the first time all year. from bad to worse. no leadership at all. and dummy Wallin did his usual screwup that got it started

Teejay

Another blown lead in the third period.

TankGirl

So I turn the radio on when I get in the car, only to hear the Wild scored to tie it up at 3-3 right as I get on the station. It stays tied as I arrive at the gas station, and when I get back in the car, it’s 5-3! I get home to turn on the TV for the last 7 minutes, and well…we know how it ends.

Ummm…dare I ask, what happened?

#31 SnowShovel: My business is definitely closer to the psych side, but as previously noted, I’m not a trained psychological professional. Maybe at some point I’ll let ya’ll in on what I do. Not just yet, though. After all, a woman’s gotta keep a little mystery about her. 😉 Thanks for the practice pass, though. And we definitely need to find you an avatar.

#33 GP: Interesting content. 🙂

#49 WI JP: “So many teams inconsistent or a high degree of parity?” Good question. My vote is for parity.

Okay. Let me see what I can of what I missed re: the game. I might be back later this evening. :/

Tano

Some people in the blog were saying that it would have been better to have Nitty in net last Monday, and the result could have been different.

Well, the collective third period meltdown of the San Jose Sharks proved you wrong…
I do not believe the goalie who could keep the Sharks in contention this year has been born yet…

Dirty

i think tank girl is a Nurse Ratchet

PismoSharksFan

Oh well … at least these are the familiar Sharks from years gone by. It’s amazing how some things never change. 60 minute effort? Nope. Heart? Nope. Desire, passion , and zeal? Nope, nope, and … nope. The only consistency over the years: a team satisfied in mediocrity. Look at Pittsburgh, Detroit, Dallas … teams that play with heart 90% of the time; don’t always win, sometimes screw the pooch, but virtually always playing hard from first puck drop to final horn. Then look at the Sharks: show up sometimes, play hard for some percentage of the game, find a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory or just go thru the motions. Sometimes it’s one or two players that just aren’t there, other times it’s the majority of the team.

I’ve kinda written off this season as another I-don’t-really-care-if-I-win-or-not one. Apparently TM is powerless to incite the team in the manner of a Mark Crawford or a Scotty Bowman (though Detroit rarely needed/needs inciting!). DW is satisfied with 2/3 of a great team, and a season that keeps them from last place in the league. And the team itself? If they ever show that they care about what the fans want CONSISTENTLY, I’ll be behind them 110%.

Now the question for everyone, what do we do now? We know the team is hamstrung by the Salary cap and 5 players with NTC, so what to do? After looking over the roster to me it comes down to 4 players worth any trade value and draft picks. I see these 4 as players that have NTC, and might have some trade value. In that we would actually get something worth something back.

1. Vlassic
2. Pavelski
3. Clowe
4. Setogucchi

Teejay

I wonder if Tank Girl wears the teal Santa suit at the Tank.

Southbay_dude

Bite your tongue Great White. I would never trade Clowe. He and Couture are our best players. Also, I don’t see the Sharks trading blue liners at this point. They are already too weak defensively.

FireDougWilson

Well here we go again. Like I mentioned yesterday this team does not practice hard, and too me appears out of shape and that is why they fade in the 3rd period.

GW,

Vlasic would get us a good solid player either on the blue line, or a forward. Add Seto and Vlasic and I think we could get a solid blueliner, although older then Vlasic, and a solid 2-way forward. I would also add that I think one of the goalies might be dealt too.

I would not mind trading Vlasic for a player such as Dustin Penner, or maybe Vlasic and Seto and get Kurtis Foster and another player as well. Would give us a more physical team. Or we could go all out and trade Niemi, Vlasic and Seto to Flordia for Dvorak, White and Vokoun.

But my guess is we end up sending a draft pick to someone and pickup a Steve Staios type player.

FireDougWilson

That would be Vlasic and Seto for Penner, Foster and a draft pick or prospect. Vokoun is an UFA and is rumored on his way out and on the trading block. Getting him would give us a real goalie.

The scoring by period clearly indicated that the team tires as the game wares on meaning they are “Out of Shape” most likely from too many easy practices and numerous days off.

Tano: I don’t believe Nitty would have made any difference again LA either, neither of our goalies is a top 15 type goalie anyway. Niemi was surrounded by the best defense in the league last year and still didn’t have great regular season stats.

Sharkalchemy

You guys can break down what’s happening on the ice all you want.

I said it I first saw it, I was a lone voice in the wilderness and continue to be so, but…

That Christmas Card video put on display what these guys really value: Being a clique, being cool, being too comfortable, being comedians, being irreverent…all well and good if you can throw down like the Flyers of the early 70’s.

2010 Sharks? not so much. A video like that suggest the team is comfortable with what they’ve accomplished and see no problem in doing a video that shows them to be out of touch with their playoff reputation and underachieving tag.

I recall most of the fan base laughing it off as well…*shakes head*…no wonder this team has been soft for so long.

Tano

The official excuse for tomorrow will be, two games back to back and playing against the SC champions, the official excuse for Saturday is going to be, the final game of a tough road trip.

Believe me, it is very tough not to be sarcastic with the way the Sharks are playing this year. They gave us some false hope with a four game winning streak, to throw the whole thing out of the window in less than a week.

If they continue to play this way I’m going to be forced to watch syncronized swimming….cause the Raiders, 49’rs, Warriors suck….

BDub

Making hypothetical trades is a waste of time. Anyway, why wrack your brains over this team as if it’s supposed to win the Stanley Cup and is underperforming? I’ve been saying since summer this team simply isn’t that good. It’s a likely playoff team but so are 15 other teams. There are only a few serious cup contenders each season and this year for the first time in many seasons, the Sharks – sadly – arent one of them. So sit back and just enjoy for what it is…a transitional season (in which ultimate direction I’m not clear about but we’re heading a few steps back before MAYBE we start moving forward again. Teams like the Sharks give hope with a good game or two, and then slide back to average-ness all over again. Such are the average to slightly better than average teams. It is what it is and it should be apparent and no great surprise to all of us. After all, it’s all in the personnel, not the anateur psycho babble reasons of chemisty or lack of heart. And just because we’re only X games behind the leaders as some will defiantly point out, it’s really meaningless and false hope. How many points are we from the bottom? We’re literally and figuritively somewhere in the vast expanse of in between-ness. We’re a boring team, we have no consistency except in our inconsistency as befits the kind of team we are. We dont have to like it but it’s what we’ve got. This season isnt going to be about making lemonade out of lemons.

SharkFin

Serious third period d problems this season (-13 for the season, have given up more 3rd period goals than any other). Gross first two games back from the break.

The flu sucks, yet alone playing hockey with it. Hope Heatley just has the short term flu and not a season long flu. Looks like the guy is skating in mud and playing George Gervin defense.

Sharks by my count played 5 rookies/2nd yr men (McGinn, Ferrio) in the top 12 forwards.

Mashinter interests me much more than Wingels & Joslin. Also like him over McCarthy though McCarthy seems smart. He may be a year or two away but if this boy has some hockey skills, he could be fun to watch. Wow, he’s big

MIN outblocked Sharks in first two periods 17-5.

FireDougWilson

BDub,

You must be on the team or the coaching staff, or maybe in the Sharks front office because you seem to have the same mentality as the team.

We are not good, so lets just give up. Sorry but that is the exact reason that this organization has never won a cup. When the going gets tough the team and the organization just gives up or caves in.

Sorry BDub, while I dont support the tatics of the coach or GM, I don’t give up. Winners never give up, losers do. It is easy to us give up and say “we are in the vastness of between ness”. You give no solution and instead just accept it.

As a fan I support the team win or lose, despite my dislike for the coaching staff and the general manager. I still hold out hope that deals can be made to improve the team. The moves I suggested I suggested for one reason and one reason only. Too make this team better when it comes to playoff time.

While I think the defense sucks, the goaltending is weak and the passion of the team is non-existent. I also think a few players could really change the outlook of those positions.

FireDougWilson

And BDub if I remember my history well. There was this MLB team in the Bay Area that looked pathetically bad in June and July, they were boring to watch and looked to have no direction, but guess what happened in Sep and October. That’s right that boring underachieving July team won a World Series.

BDub

FDW…well, I never said anything about giving up. I did say it’s all about personnel. Obviously, they aren’t as good a team as the one that lost to the Blackhawks last year. So it’s a step backwards with predicable results. It will take time to develop the younger players and see what talent they bring. And yes, it’s been well documented that the Sharks need defensive help. I’m only pointing out what we have now, not the promise or the hope for tomorrow – which we all have.

If you wish to speculate with trade talk, that’s fine but futile and really irrelevant to anything, really. But to merely accept – not like – the team for what it is realistically is not a losers mentality from a fan and supporter. From the front office to have that attitude is totally different and to answer your inquiry, no, I’m not part of the Sharks organization.. I’m sure you were being facetious but I got your invalid point.

BDub

And PLEASE, no Giants references! Manchester United did the same thing in the British Premier Football league in 1948….SO WHAT?

hockeyrocks

#82 SharkFin “MIN outblocked Sharks in first two periods 17-5.”

I’m glad something came up so I couldn’t watch this game. Monday’s game was sad enough.

Hopefully the Sharks have some vestige of pride left and they’ll do what’s necessary to subdue the Hawks.

Go Sharks!

Ty G.

I see all this talk about the Giants comparison. get real. 2 things made the big difference for them. they made a tough but absolutely necessary decision to sit out of the playoffs that overpaid loser vet barry Zito and go with their younger starters . and they got luckier than crap in their pickup of Cody Ross, who was acquired for bench depth and pinch hitting, but got unconscious hot at the right time and was out of his mind sizzling in the clutch when he was not even expected to play much.

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